Kahah



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

v J QPLHANRAHAN. REFRIGERATOR BUILDING. No. 322,446. Patented July21,1885.

Tl Zinesses: l'nueniok- N. PETERS, Pholo-Lllhugnphsr. Wahinflofl. D. C.

(NOModel.)' zsheets sheet 2.

J. F. HANRAHAN.

' REFRIGERATOR BUILDING.

No. 322,446. Patented July 21, 1885.

77iine6868 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.IOSEPH FRANCIS HANBAHAN, OF OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR OFONE-FOURTH TO AMES GORDON, OF SAME PLACE.

REFRIGERATOR-BUILDING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 322,446, dated July 21,1885.

Application filed April 29, 1 885. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OSEPH FRANCIS HAN- RAHAN, of Ottawa, in the countyof Carleton, Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new 5 and usefulImprovements in Refrigerators and Refrigerator-Buildings, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to refrigerators and refrigerator-buildings; and itconsists in anovel construction and arrangement of the same, ashereinafter fully set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section ofmyimproved refrigeratorbuilding. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the I5 same, and Fig. 3 an enlarged sectional view.

This invention is designed as an improvement upon that for which LettersPatent of the United States were granted to me, bearing date November 4,1884, No. 307,459; and

the invention has for its object toimprove the circulation of air in theice and refrigerating or cooling chambers. a

A indicates the icc-chamber, which is shown in Figs. 1 and 3, suppliedwith ice, and B the cooling-chamber, the two chambers being connected bya pipe or conductor, 0, extending from the top of the cooling-chamber tonear the top of the ice-chamber, as in the patent hereinbefore referredto.

u The floor of the ice-chamberAis double that is to say, it is providedwith two sets of parallel passages or channels, the upper set beingseparated from the lower set in a manner now to be described. Upon asuitable foundation, a, for the building are placed on edge the joistsor timbers b, which extendlengthwise of the chamber A,as shown in Figs.1 and 3, similar boards or planks, 0, being laid longitudinally acrossthe tops of eachal- 4o ternate pair of joists or timbers I), thus form'-ing a series of parallel long rectangular channels or passages, 11. Uponthe planks c, and lapping the adjacent edges thereof, are joists ortimbers e, which are of the same length as the other floor-timbers, andwhich form the tops of similar channels or passages, d, which are in allsubstantial respects the same as the adjoining channels. Immediatelyabove the timbers b, and resting upon the timbers e, are joists ortimbers, f, which, extending parallel with each other, longitudinally ofthe building, inclose or form the side walls of a second set of passagesor channels, (I, which latter are above and of the same size and form asthe lower channels or I passages. It will thus be seen that the floor iscomposed of two a 1 sets of passages or channels,d, both extendinglengthwise of the building, and one set being immediately over the otherset. The passages d are open at both ends, and communicate 6o sages g attwo sides of the chamber A, I d0 not wish to limit myself to thisarrangement, as it is obvious that they may be applied to only one sideor to all the sides. 7 The inner upright faces of the channels or ductsg and the upper faces of the upper set of channels (1 are left'openuntil theice isput in place, when they are closed by the ice,whichconsequently forms one side of each of the vertical ducts or channels 9and of the upper set of channels d. From this construction andarrangement it will be seen that the air in passing through the ducts orpassages d 9 will pass in contact with the ice.

The passages (Z are furnished with doors or shutters h, as shown in Fig.1, by which to vary or reverse the currents of air.

The conductor or pipe 0 connecting the chambers A B may enter the formerat the ceiling-line, as in Figs. 2 and 3; or it may enter the chamber atapoint somewhat lower, as in Fig. 1, in which latter case it will befound advisable, if not necessary, to employ a short verticalcontinuation,0,which shall extend up along the wall of chamber A anddeliver the air near the ceiling.

The walls z of the whole structure are rendered non-conducting by anyusual and wellknown material, such as sawdust. I

D D indicate ventilators in the roof of the ice-chamber A, whichventilators may be of any desired form. They communicate with thechamber A by means of vertical tubes or pipes E and F, (shownin Figs. 1and 2,) said tubes being of about the same area in crosssection as thetube or conductor 0. It will be noticed that the air-inlet pipe Edescends nearer to the surface of the ice than does the discharge-pipeF, and both may, if desired, be provided with valves to regulate theair-currents.

The ice-chamber A is supplied with ice nearly to the ceiling, asindicated in all the figures, and the articles to be preserved or cooledare placed in chamber B.

The space above the ice allows a current of cold air to pass downwardthrough the vertical flues g in contact with the ice forming one face ofsaid fines, and thence horizontally beneath and in contact with the icethrough channels or passages d, and into the refrigerating or coolingchamber B. The air also descends through the vertical flues g that areadjacent to the chamber B, and discharges into the horizontal ducts d.As the cold air enters the refrigerating or storing chamber B it becomeswarmed by absorbing the heat from the articles placed in said chamber,and, being thus rarefied, rises and escapes with whatever odors theremay be through the pipe or conductor 0 into the top of chamber A. Aportion of the heated air escapes through the outlet or Ventilating pipeF into the atmosphere, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. l,while theremaining lesser portion will pass I over the ice and down through theducts 9,

and again delivered to the cooling chamber B through channels d. Anamount of air enters through pipe E equal to that which escapes throughpipe F, thereby maintaining a constant circulation of air through andaround the chambers A and B. As the heated or warmed air escapes fromchamber B into chamher A a part passes up through pipe F and theremainder passes to the farther side of the chamber A, where it meetsthe incoming .current of fresh air discharged by pipe E. In

order to prevent the warmed air from passing up through pipe E, andthereby destroying the perfect circulation, said pipe E extends downwardbelow the warm-air strata and discharges the cold air below the latter.This arrangement causes whatever warmed air passes over to the fartherside of the ice-chamber to descend with the fresh cooler air downthrough the ducts g.

The shutters or valves it applied to the discharge-mouths of thechannels or passages (1 may, and preferably will, be made as onecontinuous shutter, so that all the upper row or all the lower row ofpassages d may be closed, as desired.

The air in passing through the channels 9 and d in contact with the iceabsorbs more or less moisture therefrom, and hence when it is desiredthat the air delivered into chamber B be particularly dry the valves hon the upper row of passages or channels are closed and the air made topass through the bottom row, which is not in contact with the ice.

The foundation (4 may be made of stone, cement, concrete, or othermaterial that will prevent the water passing through it.

The water resulting from the melting of the ice will pass along thechannels or passages d, and be discharged into a gutter, j, (shown inFig. 3,) and by which it is discharged from the building. This gutter jmay be tapped or kept normally closed at its discharge end, so as toprevent the ingress or escape of air to or from the chamber B, andthereby destroy or interfere with the circulation.

The manner of building up the double floor for the ice-chamber A may beconsiderably varied; but I prefer the arrangement shown, as it is strongand is found to answer the purpose admirably.

I am aware that it has been proposed to construct arefrigerator-building with two sets of double walls withcontinuous-air-fiues between them, and such construction I do not claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In arefrigerator, the combination of an ice-chamber, a cooling chambercommunicating therewith at the top and bottom, and an air inlet, and anair-discharge pipe in the top of the ice-chamber communicating with theatmosphere, as and for the purpose described.

2. In a refrigerator, the combination of an ice-chamber and acooling-chamber communicating therewith, an air inlet pipe, and anair-discharge pipe in the top of the ice-chamher and communicating withthe atmosphere, said air-inlet pipe extending downward to a point belowthe air-discharge pipe, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a refrigerator, the combination, with an ice-chamber and acooling-chamber communicating therewith, of .the two sets of fines orpassages d, arranged one above the other and communicating with the iceand cooling chambers.

4. In a refrigerator, the combination, with an ice-chamber and acooling-chamber communicating therewith, of the two sets of fines orpassages d, arranged one above the other and provided with valves orshut-ters h, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a refrigerator, the combination of an ice-chamber, acooling-chamber, an air-duct extending from the top of thecooling-chamber to the upper side of the ice-chamber, Vertiealfiues atone or more sides of the icechamber, on the interior thereof, andhorizontal flues beneath the ice and communicating with the verticalflues and with the coolingchamber, as described and shown.

6. In a refrigerator, the combination of an ice-chamber and a coolingchamber communicating therewith, vertical flues 9 open at theii ends andone side, and horizontal g and d, chamber B, and pipe 0, connectingfines d, communicating with the flues g and the chambers A B, as and forthe purpose set 10 with the cooling-chamber, and also open at forth.

one side whereby the air in passing through said flues is in contactwith the mass of ice. JOSEPH FRANCIS HANRAHAN 7. The herein-describedrefrigerator, eonsist- Witnesses:

ing of ice-chamber A, provided with air-inlet A. J. CHRISTIE,

and air-discharge pipes E F, and with ducts H. A. REOIVAR.

